Piles (haemorrhoids) are lumps inside and around your bottom (anus). They often get better on their own after a few days. There are things you can do to treat and prevent piles.

Check if it's piles

Symptoms of piles include:

bright red blood after you poo
an itchy anus
feeling like you still need to poo after going to the toilet
mucus in your underwear or on toilet paper after wiping your bottom
lumps around your anus
pain around your anus

How you can treat or prevent piles

Ask a pharmacist about treatment for piles

A pharmacist can suggest:

creams to ease the pain, itching and swelling
treatment to help constipation and soften poo
cold packs to ease discomfort

Many pharmacies have private areas if you do not want to be overheard.

Ask for an urgent GP appointment or get help from NHS 111 if:

you have piles and your temperature is very high or you feel hot and shivery and generally unwell
you have pus leaking from your piles

You can call 111 or get help from 111 online.

Hospital treatment for piles

If there's no improvement to your piles after home treatments, you may need hospital treatment.

Talk to your doctor about the best treatment for you. Treatment does not always prevent piles coming back.

Treatment without surgery

Common hospital treatments include:

rubber band ligation: a band is placed around your piles to make them drop off
sclerotherapy: a liquid is injected into your piles to make them shrink
electrotherapy: a gentle electric current is applied to your piles to make them shrink
infrared coagulation: an infrared light is used to cut the blood supply to your piles to make them shrink

You'll be awake for this type of treatment, but the area will be numbed.

You should be able to go home on the same day.

If these treatments do not work, you may need surgery to remove your piles.

Surgery

Surgical treatments include:

haemorrhoidectomy: your piles are cut out
stapled haemorrhoidopexy: your piles are stapled back inside your anus
haemorrhoidal artery ligation: stitches are used to cut the blood supply to your piles to make them shrink

You'll usually need to be asleep for this type of treatment and may need to stay in hospital for more than 1 day.

you're bleeding non-stop
there's a lot of blood – for example, the toilet water turns red or you see large blood clots
you're in severe pain

What causes piles?

Piles are swollen blood vessels. It's not clear what causes them.

Things that make piles more likely:

constipation
pushing too hard when pooing
heavy lifting
pregnancy

Find out more about piles during pregnancy